So, turns out Mr. Mario’s interview with Nintendo of Japan has been officially translated. Among the various technological and hardware information, the most important news is of course the stuff related to Nintendo’s upcoming Zelda game.

On December 23rd in Japan we are going to release The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, a sequel of Phantom Hourglass. It’s really fun and challenging. On the other hand it might be a bit difficult for many new Japanese Zelda players who experienced their first adventure on Phantom Hourglass. I believe Spirit Tracks have achieved a unique style and I think you can anticipate the core value of Zelda!

Interestingly enough, despite Nintendo’s focus on more casual gamers and the relative lack of difficulty that has been affecting several past Zelda titles, Nintendo seems to be turning towards the more challenging side of the franchise.

This comes as good news when considering that they also mention the same thing about the upcoming Mario Bros. game for the Wii.